"Vascular events" have now been added to the widely known laundry
list of ill-effects of diet sodas. An eye-opening study published in
the Journal of General Internal Medicine shows that individuals
who drink diet soft drinks on a daily basis may be at increased risk
of suffering vascular events such as stroke, heart attack, and vascular
death.

Researchers from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
and the Columbia University Medical Center studied the soda-drinking
habits of 2,564 people in a multi-ethnic, urban population over a
10-year period, and discovered that daily drinkers had a 43 percent
higher risk of having a vascular event than non-drinkers.

In today's fast paced climate, where zero calorie sodas find their
way in many people's daily lives as an assumed healthier alternative
to sugary drinks, many are disregarding much solid evidence showing
that diet sodas are associated with multiple side effects.

The Ingredients:

Caffeine is quite dehydrating. For every ounce of soda, one needs
2 ounces of water to handle the toxin level. Caffeine causes
irritability and palpitations in some. Caffeine elevates cortisol
levels which contributes to weight gain, metabolic syndrome and
diabetes. It is addictive in nature and depletes B-vitamins,
especially B1 (thiamine). Fatigue, nervousness, general aches and
pains, and headaches are all symptoms of a low B1 level. This level
can be assessed by your physician. It contributes to a general
malabsorptive state, and therefore depletes a variety of minerals as
well, leading to fatigue and muscle cramps.

The FDA granted aspartame, which is 200 times sweeter than sugar,
a "generally recognized as safe" status, or GRAS. It is composed of
two amino acids Â– phenylalanine and aspartic acid, and contains10%
methyl alcohol, a light volatile flammable liquid alcohol used as a
solvent and anti-freeze. It is a known neurotoxin.

Saccharin is quite dangerous as well. It is a non-caloric
petroleum derivative and is 300 times sweeter than sugar. It is
excreted unchanged in the urine being that it is not modified by the
body.

Phosphoric
acid's acidic nature dissolves calcium out of the bones. Caucasian
women in particular have been shown to suffer from osteoporosis in the
setting of high phosphoric acid intake (soda & coffee).

In spite of this study and prior research on the ill-effects of
diet drinks, the diet soda industry is not going downhill after this
study, especially being that soft drinks in general account for more
than a quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States.